Economy
July 2016 at a Glance
Written by Brett Linton
July 30, 2016
For the second month, SMU Price Momentum is at Neutral suggesting flat rolled steel prices will remain within a relatively tight trading range of plus or minus twenty dollars per ton over the next 30 days. We saw hot rolled prices only move $5 per ton during the month of July. Our average for the month came in at $618 per ton while the CME settlement number for the month was three dollars higher at $621 per ton. Platts was also higher averaging $625 per ton for the month.
Our Sentiment Index 3 Month Moving Average broke down during the month at +67.33. This was the first time Sentiment reverse course since December 2015.
The spread between hot rolled and cold rolled/coated products continues to be more than $200 per ton.
Here are a number of the key data points for you to review:
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Economy
Industry groups praise Senate for passing tax and budget bill
The Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the tax provisions included in the Senate's tax and budget reconciliation bill.
Chicago PMI dips 0.1 points in June
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped 0.1 points to 40.4 points, in June.
Multi-family pullback drives housing starts to 5-year low in May
US housing starts tumbled in May to a five-year low, according to figures recently released by the US Census Bureau.
Architecture firms still struggling, ABI data shows
Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.
Manufacturing in New York state contracts again
However, companies are growing more optimistic about the future.